Bazaar After Dark: What's in store for Wisconsin Avenue return

Bazaar After Dark teams up with Habitat for Humanity in Kaukauna.
Ron Page/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

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An estimated 3,500 people turned up at the first Bazaar After Dark event last September on Wisconsin Avenue in Appleton. The event is back for another go at that location Wednesday.(Photo: Ron Page/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

APPLETON - Just shy of a year ago, a new event turned up in Appleton, transforming an often overlooked part of Wisconsin Avenue into a lively, vibrant community festival for a few hours. For many of the thousands who showed up, the whole ordeal was quite a pleasant surprise.

That cool September evening, Bazaar After Dark was born.

Three more of these arts-heavy all-ages jamborees have been staged in the Fox Cities in the year since, each attracting bigger crowds than the previous. (The most recent one, held in Menasha in July, welcomed an estimated 7,000 people.)

Come Wednesday, the night market put on by Pulse Young Professionals Network, part of the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce, returns to the strip of street where it began.

The year's third and final Bazaar After Dark — and the fourth one ever, for those keeping count — runs from 5 to 10 p.m. on the three-block stretch of Wisconsin Avenue from Oneida to Drew streets.

"Our goal is always to highlight business districts in the area that need some extra attention," said Pulse director Nikki Hessel, Bazaar After Dark's organizer. "We chose this particular area of Wisconsin Avenue because last time around it had the highest density of minority-owned businesses in Appleton and also because it has a pretty high vacancy rate, too. We were hoping to highlight some of the super successful businesses that have been there for a long time and to help people see the neighborhood in a new way and make them want to open up a business there or stop there with their families to shop."

Hessel took over as Pulse director after Adrienne Palm left the post in July, making this the first Bazaar After Dark under her leadership. Hessel's not going at it alone, however, as Palm has stuck around as a consultant and has helped with the transition.

"Anxious anticipation" was how Hessel described her feelings a few days out.

"I'm really excited. I'm really thrilled to be in this role and I think Adrienne (Palm) prepared me really well for this event," she said. " ... When we get there that night and everyone is having a good time and seeing their neighborhood in a new light, it's totally worth all the hours that went into it."

Here's a rundown of what's on tap for Wednesday night:

Big picture: The scope of the night market will hold steady at 100-plus vendors, which includes a wide range of visual and performing arts, nonprofits, businesses, you name it. Some will be familiar, some likely not.

The first Bazaar After Dark drew an estimated 3,500 people. The most recent was double that, so it's not impossible this one continues the growth trend.

Part of the trick with a return visit? Avoiding repetition.

"We want to make it fresh and new and different, especially since we've been in this location already," Hessel said. " We've been trying to infuse new and surprising elements so it doesn't get stale."

Lots to devour: Whatever you were planning to make for dinner Wednesday can be put on hold. It'll be the last gathering of the Fox Valley Food Truck Rally season Wednesday, meaning more than a dozen local food trucks will be parked. Beyond the meals on wheels, Wisconsin Avenue businesses like Pheng Houa Daily Foods and Los Tres Manantiales will be serving all comers. There'll be about 20 different food vendors total, Hessel said.

Beverage situation: Stone Arch Brew House is back as Bazaar After Dark's exclusive beer vendor. Viroqua-based Upstream Cider will be there too, and Appleton's JSA Coffee Roasting will have hot and cold coffees available for those in need of a caffeine charge.

Music lineup: At least two Midwestern acts that Mile of Music fans might be familiar with are on the bill — Chicago's JC Brooks and Milwaukee's Lex Allen with New Age Narcissism. Nashville rockers Thelma and the Sleaze also are confirmed. Another band or two may be added to the lineup before go time.

In a new wrinkle, the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra is offering up three or four small roving groups of musicians making their way around the grounds, including an Irish strings duo and a string quartet from the Youth Orchestra program.

Odds and ends: Since its inception, part of the Bazaar After Dark ethos has been expecting the unexpected — especially when it comes to things you don't see every day in the Fox Cities. Maybe it's a little spoilery, but among the special guests this time around are a group of aerial performers who'll be hooping and dancing at altitude. The pedal-powered Social Station will be giving tours of the nearby results of Habitat for Humanity's Rock the Block. There'll also be a team of seven fire performers, a comedy juggler, a giant game of Checkers, on-the-spot tintype photography from Fox Cities artist Justus Poehls and plenty of other oddball surprises.

A team of about 40 volunteers will either be helping night-of or were involved in the run up to the event. One of their big duties has been to alert the neighborhoods around the soon-to-be-bustling stretch of Wisconsin Avenue of what's happening and welcoming them. The nearby businesses, like last year, are brought into the fold.

"People were a little hesitant last time because they weren't sure what it was going to be about," Hessel said, "but after their experience last time they have been really supportive and are thankful that we're choosing this area again. All of the businesses in that area are on board, everybody's been really excited and supportive."

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Chicago's JC Brooks, who played Mile of Music in August, will be back in Appleton for a performance at Bazaar After Dark Wednesday night.(Photo: Ron Page/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

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Jessi Bichel does a fire performance with a Dragon Contact Staff as Bazaar After Dark takes place Thursday, July 20, 2017, in downtown Menasha, Wis. The event is the third program of Pulse Young Professionals Network. The first bazaar was held in Appleton last year while the second took place in Kaukauna earlier this year.
Ron Page/USA TODAY NETWORK- Wisconsin
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Sam George performs in front of The Blind Pig and The Attic as Bazaar After Dark takes place Thursday, July 20, 2017, in downtown Menasha, Wis.
Ron Page/USA TODAY NETWORK- Wisconsin
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Abigale Van Dam works on a self-portrait while waiting for a customer to stop by her booth as Bazaar After Dark opens Thursday, July 20, 2017, in downtown Menasha, Wis.
Ron Page/USA TODAY NETWORK- Wisconsin
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Victoria Jayne and her son Jenn talk with Steve Keller of the Traveling Snake Show as Bazaar After Dark takes place Thursday, July 20, 2017, in downtown Menasha, Wis.
Ron Page/USA TODAY NETWORK- Wisconsin
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin